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2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches determined the participating teams for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates12 April – 19 November 2014
Teams51 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played125
Goals scored268 (2.14 per match)
Top scorer(s)Burkina Faso Jonathan Pitroipa
(6 goals)
← 2013
2017 →

A total of 16 teams competed in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[1]

Prior to November 2014, it was expected that Morocco would be the host country (and thus be pre-qualified). However, as Morocco missed the 9 November deadline for confirming their willingness to host (because of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa), Morocco was expelled from the tournament.[2] Equatorial Guinea was chosen as the new host, and despite having played in the qualifiers and been disqualified due to fielding an ineligible player, they now qualify for the tournament automatically.[3]

Qualified teams

  Qualified
  Failed to qualify
  Withdrew, disqualified or did not enter
  Not part of CAF
TeamMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Finals
appearance		Last
appearance		Previous best
performance		FIFA ranking
at start of event
 Equatorial Guinea00Hosts14 November 20142nd2012Quarter-finals (2012)
 Cape VerdeGroup F winners15 October 20142nd2013Quarter-finals (2013)
 AlgeriaGroup B winners15 October 201415th2013Winners (1990)
 TunisiaGroup G winners14 November 201417th2013Winners (2004)
 South AfricaGroup A winners15 November 20149th2013Winners (1996)
 ZambiaGroup F runners-up15 November 201417th2013Winners (2012)
 CameroonGroup D winners15 November 201417th2010Winners (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002)
 GabonGroup C winners15 November 20145th2012Quarter-finals (1996, 2012)
 Burkina FasoGroup C runners-up15 November 20149th2013Runners-up (2013)
 SenegalGroup G runners-up15 November 201413th2012Runners-up (2002)
 Ivory CoastGroup D runners-up19 November 201420th2013Winners (1992)
 GhanaGroup E winners19 November 201419th2013Winners (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
 GuineaGroup E runners-up19 November 201411th2012Runners-up (1976)
 MaliGroup B runners-up19 November 20148th2013Runners-up (1972)
 CongoGroup A runners-up19 November 20147th2000Winners (1972)
 DR CongoBest 3rd place19 November 201417th2013Winners (1968, 1974)

Format

The qualifying draw was supposed to take place in Morocco on 10 March 2013 during CAF General Assembly.[4] However, the CAF Executive Committee decided on 8 March 2013 that the qualifying draw would be held on 31 January 2014 in South Africa in line with the 2014 African Nations Championship.[5] However, on 28 January 2014, the draw date was reported to have changed once again. The qualifying draw was held on 27 April 2014 in Cairo, Egypt (with the exception of the preliminary round which was held on 21 February 2014 in Cairo).[6]

A total of 51 teams entered the qualification matches (Djibouti and Somalia did not enter).[7][8] After the CAF Executive Committee meeting on 24 January 2014, it was decided that the qualifiers shall be played in the format of several qualifying rounds, as well as a group stage with seven groups consisting of four teams each. The two top teams of each group then directly qualify for the finals, along with the best third place team of the seven groups.[9] This was different from the original proposal, which consisted of a preliminary round followed by a group stage with twelve groups of four teams.[10]

The top 21 teams listed in the CAF Ranking shall automatically qualify for the group stage. The seven other teams playing in the group stage shall be determined following the conclusion of the qualifying rounds. The ranking is computed using the teams' results in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 3) and qualifiers, the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 2) and qualifiers (weighted by 0.5), the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. If tied on points, the tiebreaker is decided by the results of the latest editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Below are the ranking of the 51 teams that entered the qualification matches:[9][11][12]

Bye to group stageCompeting in qualifying rounds
Entering in first roundEntering in preliminary round
  1.  Nigeria (39.5 pts)
  2.  Ghana (38 pts)
  3.  Ivory Coast (36 pts)
  4.  Zambia (33 pts)
  5.  Burkina Faso (32 pts)
  6.  Mali (30 pts)
  7.  Tunisia (22.5 pts)
  8.  Algeria (18 pts)
  9.  Angola (17 pts)
  10.  Cape Verde (16.5 pts)
  11.  Togo (14.5 pts)
  12.  Egypt (14.5 pts)
  13.  South Africa (13.5 pts)
  14.  Cameroon (13.5 pts)
  15.  DR Congo (12 pts)
  16.  Ethiopia (12 pts)
  17.  Gabon (12 pts)
  18.  Niger (11 pts)
  19.  Guinea (11 pts)
  20.  Senegal (11 pts)
  21.  Sudan (10.5 pts)
  1.  Libya (10.5 pts)
  2.  Equatorial Guinea (9 pts)
  3.  Botswana (8 pts)
  4.  Malawi (7 pts)
  5.  Uganda (6.5 pts)
  6.  Mozambique (6 pts)
  7.  Benin (5.5 pts)
  8.  Sierra Leone (5 pts)
  9.  Congo (5 pts)
  10.  Central African Republic (4.5 pts)
  11.  Zimbabwe (4 pts)
  12.  Kenya (4 pts)
  13.  Liberia (3.5 pts)
  14.  Gambia (3.5 pts)
  15.  Rwanda (3.5 pts)
  16.  Tanzania (3.5 pts)
  17.  Namibia (3 pts)
  18.  Burundi (2 pts)
  19.  Lesotho (2 pts)
  20.  Guinea-Bissau (1.5 pts)
  21.  Madagascar (1.5 pts)
  22.  Chad (1 pt)
  23.  São Tomé and Príncipe (1 pt)
  24.  Seychelles (1 pts)
  25.  Comoros (0.5 pts)
  26.  Swaziland (0.5 pts)
  1.  Mauritius (0.5 pts)
  2.  Eritrea (0 pts)
  3.  Mauritania (0 pts)
  4.  South Sudan (0 pts)

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.[11][13]

RoundMatchdayDate
Qualifying roundsPreliminary round 1st leg11–13 April 2014
Preliminary round 2nd leg18–20 April 2014
First round 1st leg16–18 May 2014
First round 2nd leg30 May–1 June 2014
Second round 1st leg18–20 July 2014
Second round 2nd leg1–3 August 2014
Group stageMatchday 15–6 September 2014
Matchday 210 September 2014
Matchday 310–11 October 2014
Matchday 415 October 2014
Matchday 514–15 November 2014
Matchday 619 November 2014

Qualifying rounds

In each of the qualifying rounds, teams were drawn into knock-out ties. Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the sides were level on aggregate after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still level, the tie proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played).[1]

Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round was held at the CAF Executive Committee on 21 February 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[11] The four teams ranked 48–51 played in this round.

On 30 March 2014, Eritrea withdrew from the preliminary round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers,[14] likely due to a rising number of the Eritrean national team players defecting from Eritrea during away matches.[15]

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Mauritania  3–0  Mauritius1–02–0
Eritrea  w/o  South Sudan——
Mauritania  1–0  Mauritius
Ba 23'Report
Mauritius  0–2  Mauritania
ReportSow 38'
Bessam 90'
Referee: Samuel Chirindza (Mozambique)

Mauritania won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.

Eritrea  Cancelled  South Sudan
Report
Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)
South Sudan  Cancelled  Eritrea
Report
Referee: Thierry Nkurunziza (Burundi)

South Sudan advanced to the first round after Eritrea, who have a history of their players defecting whilst on international duty, withdrew.[16][17]

First round

The draw for the first round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[18][19] The 26 teams ranked 22–47 and the two winners of the preliminary round played in this round. Teams ranked 22–35 were seeded, and teams ranked 36–47 and the two winners of the preliminary round were unseeded.[20]

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Liberia  1–2  Lesotho1–00–2
Kenya  2–1  Comoros1–01–1
Madagascar  2–2 (a)  Uganda2–10–1
Mauritania  awd.  Equatorial Guinea1–00–3
Namibia  1–3  Congo1–00–3
Libya  0–3  Rwanda0–00–3
Burundi  0–1  Botswana0–00–1
Central African Republic  1–3  Guinea-Bissau0–01–3
Swaziland  1–2  Sierra Leone1–10–1
Gambia  awd.  Seychelles——
São Tomé and Príncipe  0–4  Benin0–20–2
Malawi  3–3 (a)  Chad2–01–3
Tanzania  3–2  Zimbabwe1–02–2
Mozambique  5–0  South Sudan5–00–0
Liberia  1–0  Lesotho
Laffor 40'Report
Referee: Gustave Tohouegnon (Benin)
Lesotho  2–0  Liberia
Potloane 2'
Jetoh 5' (o.g.)		Report
Referee: Joshua Amao (Nigeria)

Lesotho won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Kenya  1–0  Comoros
Omolo 34'Report
Referee: Wellington Kaoma (Zambia)
Comoros  1–1  Kenya
Saandi 78'ReportMasika 56'
Referee: Djamal Aden (Djibouti)

Kenya won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Uganda  1–0  Madagascar
Massa 12'Report
Referee: Mohamed Farouk Mahmoud (Egypt)

2–2 on aggregate. Uganda won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round.

Mauritania  1–0  Equatorial Guinea
Diakité 76'Report
Referee: Mutaz Khairalla (Sudan)
Equatorial Guinea  3–0  Mauritania
Mina 2'
Rivas 71'
Dio 74'		Report
Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)

Equatorial Guinea won 3–1 on aggregate. However, on 3 July 2014, the CAF announced that Equatorial Guinea were disqualified for fielding the ineligible player Thierry Fidjeu in the tie, and as a result, Mauritania advanced to the second round.[21] Equatorial Guinea later qualified for the final tournament as replacement hosts.

Namibia  1–0  Congo
Bester 87'Report
Referee: Hagi Wiish (Somalia)

Congo won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Libya  0–0  Rwanda
Report
Referee: Juste Ephrem Zio (Burkina Faso)
Rwanda  3–0  Libya
Birori 38', 62', 72'Report
Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)

Rwanda won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Botswana won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Central African Republic  0–0  Guinea-Bissau
Report
Referee: Antonio Muachihuissa Caxala (Angola)

Guinea-Bissau won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Swaziland  1–1  Sierra Leone
Shongwe 56'ReportSesay-Fullah 2'
Referee: Sebit Rassas Librato (South Sudan)
Sierra Leone  1–0  Swaziland
U. Bangura 66' (pen.)Report
Referee: Mohamed Ragab Omar (Libya)

Sierra Leone won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Gambia  Cancelled  Seychelles
Report
Seychelles  Cancelled  Gambia
Report

Seychelles advanced to the second round after Gambia were suspended from all CAF competitions for two years for deliberately fielding overage players in the 2015 African U-20 Championship qualification match against Liberia.[22]

São Tomé and Príncipe  0–2  Benin
ReportSessègnon 82', 90' (pen.)
Referee: Mal Mohamadou (Cameroon)
Benin  2–0  São Tomé and Príncipe
Gounongbé 27'
Sessègnon 73'		Report
Referee: Sékou Ahmed Touré (Guinea)

Benin won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Malawi  2–0  Chad
Mhango 6', 74'Report
Referee: Rainhold Shikongo (Namibia)

3–3 on aggregate. Malawi won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round.

Tanzania won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Mozambique  5–0  South Sudan
Josemar 12'
Mexer 42'
Sonito 45', 53'
Isac 82'		Report
Referee: Denis Batte (Uganda)
South Sudan  0–0  Mozambique
Report
Referee: Thierry Nkurunziza (Burundi)

Mozambique won 5–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Second round

The draw for the second round was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[23] The 14 winners of the first round played in this round.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Lesotho  1–0  Kenya1–00–0
Uganda  3–0  Mauritania2–01–0
Congo  awd.  Rwanda2–00–2
Botswana  3–1  Guinea-Bissau2–01–1
Sierra Leone  w/o  Seychelles2–0—
Benin  1–1 (3–4 p)  Malawi1–00–1
Tanzania  3–4  Mozambique2–21–2
Lesotho  1–0  Kenya
Moletsane 66'Report
Referee: Samuel Chirindza (Mozambique)
Kenya  0–0  Lesotho
Report
Referee: Aurélien Juenkou (Cameroon)

Lesotho won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to Group C.

Uganda  2–0  Mauritania
Majwega 48'
Massa 69'		Report
Referee: Hudu Munyemana (Rwanda)

Uganda won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to Group E.

Rwanda  2–0  Congo
Ndahinduka 51'
Kagere 58'		Report
Penalties
Tubane
Mbaraga
Kagere
Bayisenge
Niyonzima
Sibomana 		4–3 Doré
N'Dinga
Ganvoula
Bifouma
Lépicier
Lakolo
Referee: Ali Adelaïd (Comoros)

2–2 on aggregate. Rwanda won the penalty shoot-out. However, on 17 August 2014, the CAF announced that Rwanda were disqualified for fielding the ineligible player Daddy Birori in the tie, as it emerged that Birori had been using a different name and a Congolese passport when playing for his club side, AS Vita.[24] As a result, Congo advanced to Group A.[25]

Guinea-Bissau  1–1  Botswana
Seidi 17'ReportRamatlhakwane 80'
Referee: Kokou Fagla (Togo)

Botswana won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to Group G.

Sierra Leone  2–0  Seychelles
Jabbie 55'
U. Bangura 72' (pen.)		Report
Referee: Bienvenu Sinko (Ivory Coast)
Seychelles  Cancelled  Sierra Leone
Report
Referee: Hagi Wiish (Somalia)

Sierra Leone advanced to Group D after Seychelles withdrew.[26] Seychelles were forced to forfeit after the Sierra Leone team was barred by the Seychelles immigration authorities from entering the country to play the second leg for fears over the West African Ebola virus epidemic.[27]

Benin  1–0  Malawi
Sessègnon 19'Report
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)

1–1 on aggregate. Malawi won the penalty shoot-out and advanced to Group B.

Tanzania  2–2  Mozambique
Mcha 66', 72' (pen.)ReportDomingues 48' (pen.)
Isac 88'
Referee: Mahmoud Ashour (Egypt)
Mozambique  2–1  Tanzania
Josemar 45+1'
Domingues 81'		ReportSamatta 75'
Referee: Denis Batte (Uganda)

Mozambique won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to Group F.

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 27 April 2014 at Cairo, Egypt.[28][29] The 21 teams ranked 1–21 and the seven winners of the second round played in this round. Teams ranked 1–7 were seeded into Pot 1, teams ranked 8–14 were seeded into Pot 2, teams ranked 15–21 were seeded into Pot 3, and the seven winners of the second round were seeded into Pot 4. The 28 teams were drawn into seven groups of four, with each group containing one team from each pot. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group, plus the best third-placed team, qualified for the finals.

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order:[1]

  1. Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
  3. Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  4. Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4 to several teams, two teams still had an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 were reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 9 applied;
  6. Goal difference in all games;
  7. Goals scored in all games;
  8. Away goals scored in all games;
  9. Drawing of lots.
Legend
Group winners, runners-up, and the best third-placed team qualified for the finals

Group A

Team
PldWDLGFGAGDPts RSA CGO NGA SDN
 South Africa633093+6120–00–02–1
 Congo6312660100–20–22–0
 Nigeria622297+282–22–33–1
 Sudan6105311−830–30–11–0
Source: [citation needed]

Group B

Team
PldWDLGFGAGDPts ALG MLI MWI ETH
 Algeria6501114+7151–03–03–1
 Mali630386+292–02–02–3
 Malawi621359−470–22–03–2
 Ethiopia6114712−541–20–20–0
Source: [citation needed]

Group C

Team
PldWDLGFGAGDPts GAB BFA ANG LES
 Gabon633094+5122–01–04–2
 Burkina Faso632184+4111–11–12–0
 Angola613255060–00–34–0
 Lesotho6024312−921–10–10–0
Source: [citation needed]

Group D

Team
PldWDLGFGAGDPts CMR CIV COD SLE
 Cameroon642091+8144–11–02–0
 Ivory Coast63121311+2100–03–42–1
 DR Congo6303109+190–21–23–1
 Sierra Leone6015314−1110–01–50–2
Source: [citation needed]

Group E

Team
PldWDLGFGAGDPts GHA GUI UGA TOG
 Ghana6321117+4113–11–13–1
 Guinea6312108+2101–12–02–1
 Uganda621345−171–02–00–1
 Togo6204712−562–31–41–0
Source: [citation needed]

Group F

Team
PldWDLGFGAGDPts CPV ZAM MOZ NIG
 Cape Verde640296+3122–11–03–1
 Zambia632162+4111–00–03–0
 Mozambique613244062–00–11–1
 Niger6033411−731–30–01–1
Source: [citation needed]

Group G

Team
PldWDLGFGAGDPts TUN SEN EGY BOT
 Tunisia642062+4141–02–12–1
 Senegal641181+7130–02–03–0
 Egypt620456−160–10–12–0
 Botswana6015111−1010–00–20–2
Source: [citation needed]

Ranking of third-placed teams

GrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
D  DR Congo6303109+19
A  Nigeria622297+28
E  Uganda621345−17
B  Malawi621359−47
C  Angola61325506
F  Mozambique61324406
G  Egypt620456−16
Source: [citation needed]

Goalscorers

6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal

Notes

References

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